The Dreamer: Slaying the Kitsune
by Leon of the Fate
Summary: Naruto's back from his training, yet Konoha is in trouble. With Hinata following her dreams, she joins a routine mission with Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru. Yet the mission soon switches focus from diplomacy to saving Sasuke... no matter the cost.
1. Chapter 1

_**Foreword**_

_This fiction begins on chapter 246 of the manga, the beginning of the Shippuden arc. This is the only essential part of the italic text. If you're not interested in any additional information, ignore the below._

_"Towards the Sun" is the working title of this fiction and it may change at a later date. If you have a suggestion for a more appropriate title, I would appreciate it. This story is very much the spiritual successor of "Kitsune Revival." However, this fiction features an entirely new storyline intended to keep more solidly with the canon world of Naruto. Furthermore, each chapter will be fully edited and proofread. It is a genuine attempt to create a quality fan fiction._

_**Audience:** This fiction is intended to appeal to anyone looking for realism in the Naruto series. The characters will adhere to their canon personalities as strictly as possible and only through character growth will new avenues open. Furthermore, the characters will not be presented as being as powerful as they are in the Shippuden arc and thus I hope to appeal to anyone not entirely pleased with the way combat now comes across in the series. Anyone interested in the characters Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Neji, or Sasuke may enjoy reading this. Anyone especially interested in reading about the romantic relations between Naruto and Hinata or Sasuke and Sakura may be intested. It will not necessarily contain an upbeat mood, but humor will also have its place. This is not to say it cannot appeal to a general audience, of course._

_**Length**: My intentions with my previous fan fiction were to write a sequel. Upon rereading it, I was displeased with the quality of my work. "Towards the Sun" is, as stated above, the spiritual successor to "Kitsune Revival." If at all possible I would like to make this fiction continue the relationship between Hinata and Naruto past the point where "Kitsune Revival" ended. This fiction will also focus on the character progression of Sasuke, Sakura, and Neji. In short, it is likely to surpass the 100,000 word count of its predecessor so long as I am capable of writing and editing it and will continue until as appropriate._

_**Update Schedule**: One of the primary reasons I did not edit my previous fiction was because it takes me so long to be satisfied with any material I write when I try to edit it. There will likely be one chapter per week with (hopefully) a greater number of chapters around Christmas. Anyone interested in proof-reading the work would be genuinely appreciated and I would be willing to do the same in exchange, though I would need someone capable of in-depth critical commentary. I would offer the same services. All reviewers are, of course, encouraged to bring any foolish errors to my attention._

* * *

**Chapter One  
****Return of a Comrade**

Hinata gently shifted her weight onto her right leg as rain fell onto the awning of the Hyuugan estate's outer walls. The cold air was beginning to penetrate her heavy coat despite her attempts to seek refuge from the weather under the canopy the walls offered. She was waiting quietly outside the main gates of the estate for a visitor long overdue. Hinata passed the time by watching the droplets of water as they descended from the heavens. They struck the ground and turned the tightly packed soil of Konoha's roads into mud. It was a messy sort of rain, heavy enough to soak most clothing within seconds and sped about by the wind at speeds that caused it to sting. She had seen a merchant try an umbrella only to have had the instrument swept away. It did not take long for the man to realize that chasing after the device was pointless. Hinata blinked and returned to the present as a gust of wind swept through the awning. Despite the soothing sound of the rain, Hinata was admittedly impatient for her guest to arrive, though the only reason was the frigid cold slowly poisoning her body.

Her eyes peered down at the gray stones at her feet as water seeped along the grout, collecting in small puddles in seemingly random places. The sandals she wore exposed her pale toes and ankles, which were quickly losing colour as the cold infected her. She had contemplated returning to her room and taking solace in the warmth of her bed. Yet just as she had turned and looked past the gate longingly to the welcome heat of her home she heard tired footsteps on the muddied road. She peered off down the path to see the shadowy figure of her sensei walking towards her with limp arms and a heavy, long coat. As Kurenai's figure came into focus it became obvious that she had a hood drawn tightly over her head to protect from the rain. Hinata certainly didn't blame her for the extra clothing she wore in the weather; it was simply that bad.

Kurenai's slow steps eventually brought her under the awning with her student. Kurenai rested her back against the wall opposite of Hinata's own place of respite before undoing her hood and letting her hair fall back. Deep, heavy breaths came from the doubled over jounin who placed her hands on her knees to support her weight. Kurenai's gasps were visible as moisture in the air and her chest was strained to keep up with her breathing. Hinata smiled at her teacher and bowed forward, her meagre voice barely carrying over the pattering rain on the tiled awning, "I'm sorry I didn't meet you somewhere closer, Sensei."

Kurenai smiled and waved a hand dismissively. "Don't be silly, Hinata. There was nowhere else we could possibly meet. The only reason for my current state was that mission. The Godaime's policies on human resources haven't become any less brutal since her appointment," she said, fixing her wrinkled and drenched coat as best she could in order to look more presentable. Hinata watched her teacher's hands tremble, but it wasn't from the cold. Hinata wasn't certain why, but she was certain that Kurenai had just lied to her. Furthermore, Hinata's precise eyes spotted the dressings on Kurenai's hands. There was little doubt that she had been bandaged by a professional medical ninja, but as Hinata decided to ignore the gauze she saw a wave of relief pass over her sensei. Kurenai was hiding something.

Rather than dwell on the awkward situation, Hinata smiled and moved forward to aid her teacher. Once Kurenai had regained her footing and managed to stand up straight the creased collar of her coat was fixed by her student's hands. Hinata was not surprised by Kurenai's confused expression. Instead, Hinata found herself letting off a warm, gentle smile that washed over the situation and dispelled the negative context they were beginning their conversation in. Kurenai at first appeared stunned by the uncharacteristically adept social move by Hinata but soon turned receptive to the positive side of her student and returned the smile. Hinata spoke with her head bowed respectfully, "Take your time, sensei. We can leave when you're ready."

When the ninja had finally come to a mutual agreement on their meal plan they strode off in hopes of finding Kiba and Akamaru. Shino had been dispatched on a mission no more than an hour past and had thus been forced to abruptly withdraw his stake in the night's activities. When Hinata informed her sensei of Shino's absence she noticed that her teacher seemed greatly disappointed, but there was no discussion or clear reason as to why. Hinata would have been lying if she had said that she was not personally concerned that Shino was out in such weather on a potentially dangerous mission, but such woes were commonplace ever since Orochimaru's attack three years ago. The entire village grew accustom to the constant danger, Hinata included. It seemed unlikely Kurenai would fret about such a thing without a proper reason, yet surprisingly it wasn't concern for Shino's safety that Hinata detected. Kurenai seemed, in a sense, annoyed, though Hinata could not fully understand her sensei's reasons for feeling such emotions.

Thinking of the anxiety she experienced daily from the dangerous missions, Hinata realized that she was never quite sure if the change in her view of life after the attack was from having matured enough to perceive the true perils of the ninja world or if it was because peace had been shattered for all of Konoha by that eventful day. It seemed that it was a little of both that caused her such dire anxiety. Kiba managed to keep an upbeat attitude constantly, but Hinata never deciphered the trick to maintaining such bliss. She drew strength from her companions and their hope but Kurenai's recent lacklustre attitude concerned her and her own daily troubles brought her back to the bleak reality a ninja faced.

Finding Kiba walking about with Akamaru was not difficult. Whenever Team Eight joined together for meals Kiba always missed the meeting and simply tracked down his comrades, usually while they were heading towards the restaurant after giving up on him. Worse yet, he was always eager to place his two cents in as to where they were going to eat, even if the other three had agreed on a specific location before his interference. He maintained the habit by quickly protesting against the meal plan whilst the rain beat down. Neither Kurenai nor Hinata were impressed as they stood shivering in the cold whilst Kiba ranted in circles about the specific reasons he disapproved of where they were going.

Hinata wasn't surprised by the protest from Kiba and made little note of it, delegating the responsibility to her sensei. Kurenai gave a small, customary huff before accepting Kiba's complaint. "Where to, Kiba?" she asked.

Following Kurenai's question there was a long pause in which Kiba seemed to put a great deal of consideration into his choice before hopping off of Akamaru and pointing towards a nearby stall. "Ichiraku, or I'm out."

There was a strange silence and Kurenai raised a single brow high in a confused stare at the young man but shrugged and approved the concept with a nod of her head. "As you'd have it, Kiba. I thought you didn't like ramen because of Akamaru, though?"

Kiba shrugged slightly and replied, "I don't mind ramen, and I already treated Akamaru to a meal. He doesn't need to eat more, so he's set. I'm starving, though."

Kurenai glanced at Hinata and the two of them shared a shrug. Neither of them wasted time taking cover once Kiba's decision was made final. They all shuffled into the shop with haste and shed their drenched coats. Akamaru huddled underneath the awning of the shop and laid his massive body behind the three chairs that were taken up by his companions. Kurenai sat between Hinata and Kiba and they all enjoyed the warmth radiating from the kitchen of the stall. Hinata gave a small sigh of contentment. The air was filled with the delicious smell of freshly made ramen and even though the shop was open to the rainy night's chilling winds it was surprisingly warm on the inside.

The friendly young woman tending the stall leaned over the counter and grinned, "You all look pretty beaten up! I'm assuming you're very hungry and up for a hot meal, and that's good. I'm Ayame and I'll be serving you today. Why don't you take some time and pick out what you'd like?" With that she took three menus from under the counter and presented them out to the customers gracefully.

Hinata looked over the selection and was slightly embarrassed as Kurenai spoke her usual line, "Don't worry about what you're ordering, both of you. It's on me for today." Despite that, Hinata carefully scanned the menu based on the cost of the items. She always felt bad when Kurenai paid for the meal. Furthermore, Hinata knew that Kiba would intentionally select one of the most expensive items to take advantage of the offer. The least she could do was attempt to balance it out by selecting one of the cheapest items available. Everything seemed so expensive when someone else was paying. Hinata gave a resigned sigh and set her menu down before the others. She had already decided on her item based solely on the neatly printed price.

Hinata noticed Kurenai looking at her as Kiba ordered his ramen, yet despite the eye contact no words were exchanged. Hinata looked down and began fidgeting with her fingers. She found herself feeling nervous due to the constant glances her sensei kept shooting in her direction. Hinata tried to think of more pleasant things but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong with Kurenai. Kurenai simply wasn't acting like herself. Hinata was certain that a dire event had transpired during her sensei's mission, but she could only guess as to what. She began to ponder what could've possibly happened as their ramen was prepared.

Hinata was pulled from her meditation as a bowl of steaming ramen was set down in front of her by the smiling waitress of Ichiraku. The young kunoichi suddenly realized that she had been staring into nothingness for quite some time. She re-examined her surroundings once she had fully woken from her trance. As she had predicted, Kiba had chosen one of the most extravagant items on the menu. Ignoring that, Hinata tried to reflect on Kurenai's strange behaviour for a few more moments. Just as Hinata had started to think, her train of thought was brought to a halt as Kiba yelped in pain. He had foolishly tried to guzzle hot tea as soon as the waitress had placed it before him and had burned his mouth badly in the process. Hinata turned to look at him in confusion. There was an indignant silence from Kiba before he finally realized the stares he was receiving. Searching about for a conversation topic to throw the attention off of himself, Kiba chuckled and pointed at Kurenai's hands. "So, Kurenai-sensei, how'd you mangle your hands up, hmn? Bandits too tough for you?" he asked.

Kurenai stared at her hands for a great period of time before replying, "The mission was just harder than normal." Hinata knew her sensei was lying, but the deception seemed to pass by Kiba undetected.

There was an awkward silence that settled over the trio. Only Kiba began eating. Kurenai and Hinata met eyes a few times and, through subtle body language, it was made clear that Kurenai had something important to discuss with her student. At first Hinata wondered if Kurenai was remaining silent because they were in public, yet it soon dawned on her that her sensei was uncomfortable with Kiba present. Such feelings were not something that Hinata was expecting from her teacher. Kiba was not acting any different than he normally did and there was no apparent reason to be suspicious. Hinata furrowed her brow for a few seconds but could not bring herself to question her sensei.

Kiba ate with haste, acting as if there was something of great importance to accomplish after his meal. His pace was probably appropriate; Kiba meal dwarfed those of his kunoichi companions and he'd be lucky to even be capable of finishing it, let alone finishing it in a reasonable period of time. Beside him, Kurenai took her time with her ramen. Hinata, on the other hand, took her time scraping her chopsticks together to remove any splinters. She wasn't even hungry anymore, the stress of the night having taken over. When she finally did begin eating she heard familiar voices outside and began listening in on their conversation inadvertently.

"I don't get it, Kakashi-sensei. Why's he getting like this?" a female asked. Hinata realized shortly afterwards that it was Sakura.

"Well... Naruto's got a lot of things going on in his mind for once," a man, Kakashi, replied.

"Do you really think Naruto's changed, though?" the female asked, evidently Sakura.

"Apparently the minute Naruto heard that he would be returning to Konoha he went back to chasing after... well, you know who I'm talking about," Kakashi said. "It all happened instantaneously. It's because of his impatience that I don't think Naruto's changed that much. You just forgot what he could get like."

Kakashi and Sakura walked into Ichiraku and surveyed the other ninja. Akamaru stirred for a moment to sniff Sakura's foot, though once he had done so he seemed satisfied and drifted back to sleep. Meanwhile, Hinata's expression was slack, but if anyone noticed they didn't mention it. Hinata had not been prepared for such a revelation. On the other hand, it was obvious neither Kakashi nor Sakura had been prepared to deal with the storm just outside the shop. Kakashi seemed relatively comfortable with his heavy flak jacket keeping him warm, but Sakura shivered violently. As soon as they sat down the waitress provided them with two hot cups of tea.

"So, Kurenai, I heard the... news," Kakashi said, pushing his tea aside as soon as the waitress had walked off.

Hinata's attention shifted from nervous thoughts of Naruto to the more immediate conversation between Kurenai and Kakashi. The young kunoichi observed her sensei staring at the white haired jounin for a brief span of time. There was a shared understanding between the two jounin at that instant, some sort of mutual knowledge that caused both of them great disappointment. Nothing further was uttered between the two once they broke eye contact. Kurenai simply stared into her bowl of ramen for a long while before eating the few noodles that remained.

"Hey, Sakura!" a familiar voice called out through the rain, running up to the stall. "Where's Kakashi-sensei! I found him earlier in the day but he ran off whe- Kakashi-sensei! Why won't you train with me?!"

Hinata froze, though everyone else on Team Eight did as well. Hinata was the only one who didn't give Naruto a stare of disbelief. Hinata was too stunned to move. Kakashi looked over at Naruto and raised a brow. Naruto pouted and squinted at him as if trying to understand what the jounin's facial expression was trying to convey. Meanwhile, Hinata fidgeted with her chopsticks furiously. "Wait, Naruto. Let me understand this," Kakashi said calmly. "You want me to get up out of the comfort and warmth of this nice ramen shop to come out with you and train in the rain and lightning?" Kakashi pointed to the heavy rain outside with his free hand to emphasize his point.

Naruto followed Kakashi's finger. Then Naruto looked back at him and nodded, "Yeah, pretty much."

"Naruto, why don't you just compromise and join us for some ramen?" Kakashi countered.

Naruto squinted again and was suddenly forced into a dilemma. He glanced at the steaming bowl of ramen Hinata had, then the slightly larger bowl Kurenai was enjoying, then the massive bowl Kiba was eating from. Naruto placed a hand on his chin and weighed his options, then came to a conclusion, "Only if you're paying, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi's eye followed Naruto's train of thought the entire way and he peered at Kiba's bowl for a long time. Kakashi carefully weighed his choices as well. "Well, Naruto," he began, "I assume that you're just going to keep bothering me until I agree to train you?"

"Pretty much," Naruto replied.

Kakashi sighed heavily, "Fine, but you can't bother me for training today. Or tomorrow."

Sakura, who had remained surprisingly silent the entire time, finally pitched in her share, "Going out to train in conditions like this would just make you sick, Naruto. It's too cold."

Naruto scoffed and sat down, crossing his arms defiantly. Hinata turned her head to look at him. He was sitting in the seat right beside her and she noticed that he had grown considerably taller since he had left the village. Hinata fiddled with her chopsticks more furiously as she began turning red. Meanwhile, Naruto began protesting, "I would not! What if we had to fight someone in this kind of weather, huh? What then? Are we going to complain it's rainy? I'm not going to complain it's rainy." Naruto turned to face Sakura, who was in the seat to his left, just beside him him.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "Naruto, you should work on what's up in your head instead of all this physical conditioning you keep doing."

"Huh? Why's that?" Naruto asked, continuing to squint. He leaned back and bumped up against Hinata. Hinata's eyes shot open and various thoughts crossed her mind. Already on edge from the stress of Shino's absence and Kurenai's strange behaviour she couldn't help the panic that ensued. It had been so long since Naruto had been near her and so long since she had felt the rush just before she lost consciousness. Something deep inside her was disappointed with her reaction, but it was too late. The only thing she could think of was that their two bodies were in contact.

Naruto turned about as Hinata went face-first into her ramen, splashing it everywhere. He blinked repeatedly and turned his head to the side, "Hinata, I don't think that's a very good way to eat ra- wait a minute! She passed out again, didn't she? Hinata, you're such a weirdo."

* * *

Naruto cried out in disbelief when he finally realized Kakashi had disappeared, leaving the bill for the ramen in his wake. Naruto had ordered multiple bowls, and worse yet his purse was empty. It had been flat ever since Jiraiya had put it to use "doing research" at the hot springs when they were en route back to Konoha. He suddenly regretted both treating the lecherous old man to his savings and that Team Eight hadn't left with Hinata, as he could've borrowed money from Kiba or maybe even Kurenai. Sakura wasn't going to show mercy, however. Meanwhile, Teuchi tapped his foot against the floor impatiently, his arms crossed. Sakura gave an exasperated sigh as Naruto extended his hands defensively towards the cook, trying to justify his situation. "I... uh... I swear I'll pay later! Kakashi said he'd pay the bills and now he isn't here! I'll probably be getting a mission tomorrow and then the first thing I'll do is pay you!" Naruto blurted out.

"Naruto," Teuchi responded, "I know you used to be a regular here, but I can't serve this much ramen without getting paid for it. I'm sorry, business just isn't good enough."

Naruto looked down at the empty bowls of ramen, then over at Sakura. He sighed sadly as he owned up to the bill. "I can do the dishes tonight, then I'll clean up the shop, and I'll pay you as soon as I can after that," he sulked.

Sakura placed down the money for the bill before Teuchi could accept. Before either man could address her actions she got up, dusting off her clothing. Naruto squinted at her in a confused fashion, his eyes asking her why she had done such a generous thing. She smiled at him and Teuchi, then explained herself, "Naruto has a point. Kakashi-sensei did promise to pay the bill before he ran off. Anyway, I don't think I've ever treated you to anything, Naruto, so it's the least I can do. Though, before you go yelling at Kakashi-sensei, you _have_ spent the entire day bothering him. It's the only day he's had without missions in a long time, Naruto."

Naruto grunted at Sakura's words, taking a few seconds to process them before brightening up. "I guess. I still think it stinks of Kakashi-sensei... though, thanks, Sakura!"

Teuchi waved as they left his shop. He hadn't had the intention of badgering the boy, but Ichiraku wasn't been doing well enough financially to let itself get burdened by unpaid bills. Once the two ninja had disappeared down the road, Teuchi began closing up the shop with his daughter. The weather was so horrible that he was certain the flow of customers had been snuffed out. They had only kept the stall open in the weather because of the number of travellers passing through Konoha earlier, all of whom were flocking to places where they could get a warm cup of tea.

With the shop closed, Teuchi and his daughter Ayame enjoyed an early dismissal from their daily chores. However, Teuchi couldn't help but wonder why the one Hyuugan girl had fainted into the bowl of ramen he had worked on. The female jounin had dragged her off once it was apparent she wasn't waking up, leaving a hefty tip in her wake and assuring the others that there was nothing to be alarmed about. Just before he left the shop for the apartment upstairs he checked his ingredients over, yet nothing was wrong with them.

* * *

Down the street, Naruto strode alongside Sakura, asking, "So, uhm... how about I walk you home?"

Sakura rolled her eyes and walked along quietly. Naruto grumbled audibly, but continued following her like a stray dog. For once, Sakura did not brush him off. Instead, she took a wrong turn on the way to her house, doing so intentionally. Naruto squinted, having turned in the opposite direction and walked a few paces before noticing Sakura walking off behind him. "Where are you going, Sakura?" he shouted, turning about and running to catching up with her.

She glanced over at him, lowered her head as if ashamed, and then gestured down the road to the bridge. He raised a brow. He remembered the bridge; Team Seven received their invitations to the chuunin examination for the first time there. He still remembered hugging Kakashi, the excitement and aspirations that welled up inside of him, and his imagination running wild as he dreamed of the old man Hokage giving up his seat to him after he took home the trophy for first place. Naruto scratched behind his head and reflected on the days before Sasuke had run away. When he began to slip towards thoughts of his failure to retrieve Sasuke, Sakura finally answered him, "I think we need to talk, Naruto. We need to talk without anyone here to cut in."

Naruto blinked, then peered at Sakura. "Don't you think that the weather's sort of bad for this, Sakura? We could at least go inside," he said.

Sakura stared up into the sky and felt the rain hitting her face. She looked down to the ground and felt the mud sticking to her sandals. She glanced to her companion and shook her head, responding, "No, it won't take long." Despite her resolve she shivered, but was determined to say her share. She was stunned for a few moments as Naruto nodded, unzipped his coat and held it out to her, grinning. The white T-shirt Naruto wore underneath was already getting soaked, yet he seemed unfazed. At first she was going to protest. Instead, she smiled thankfully at him and put the coat on with his aid.

As they both stood on the bridge, leaning on the stone fence and peering into the rushing water of the canal, silence reigned for a long time. The canal was brimming with water in the heavy rains and small eddies formed on the sides where the aluminum siding had caught debris. Neither of them were entirely sure of what to say, yet Sakura started at the first relevant thought she grasped, "I know you want to get Sasuke back and I know it's frustrating that Tsunade won't let you go on missions to find him, but you can't get angry at her, she has her reasons as the Hokage, Naruto."

He didn't reply immediately, frowning. Collecting his thoughts, Naruto didn't find any way to express them. He tried to form his opinions into sentences, but it didn't work. Soon he found himself tapping his fingers on the railing of the bridge and looking about impatiently as he grew tired of trying to decipher his own thinking. When he did reply it wasn't the full message he wanted to convey, but he said it anyway, "I just don't like how the Pervy Sage made me wait so long, and now Sasuke's in real danger because of it... and we don't even have permission to do anything about it. I don't get it. How can everyone else stand by and hope for the best?"

"Naruto, that's not what people are doing," Sakura said, frowning as well. "I remembered something Kakashi-sensei said when we went to the training field and faced off against him again. It sort of applies here."

Naruto raised a brow, guessing, "'Underneath the underneath?'"

"No," she responded, "not that. I know you made a promise to bring Sasuke back, and I've always cared for that promise. I still do. But now that promise isn't as important as helping the Leaf, Naruto. Tsunade-sensei needs her ninja back, and ninja who are willing to take on important missions, not just what they want to do. A lot happened when you were gone, but one thing hasn't changed. The Leaf is still in trouble. In fact, when I'm training with Tsunade-sensei she sometimes talks with Shizune while watching me. Apparently the other countries are beginning to catch on that the Leaf is starting to limp, and they're taking advantage. The only thing keeping us afloat is the Sand's help."

Naruto looked over at her and huffed, "What do you think I should do, then?"

"Remember, Naruto," Sakura said, "that, 'those who don't take care of their comrades are lower than trash.'"

Sakura looked over, but knew that Naruto didn't understand at first. He looked into the water and poured genuine consideration into what she had said, but soon squinted at her and shrugged, "I don't understand. Sasuke's a comrade, so how am I helping him by abandoning him?"

Sakura greeted his reply with a smile and explained, "I know Sasuke's a comrade, but Sasuke left on his own will. In the Leaf, we're all comrades. Right? If the Leaf shows weakness during the exams it'll be us and the Sand against the rest of the ninja nations. Worse yet, it might be like the first one we took; Konoha might suffer an attack during the course of the exam. But if a powerful Leaf genin were to appear out of the blue, the other nations might rethink an attack."

"I get it!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning. Yet the smirk didn't last long, and he quickly found himself looking at her in a concerned fashion, "But... that doesn't change the fact that Sasuke's in danger. If we don't get to him in time, Orochimaru might get him permanently."

"Naruto, please," she said. "Let me worry about Sasuke. You should worry about the Leaf. After all, how will you become Hokage if you're constantly chasing after him? I'm Tsunade's student, and as such I can try to sway her opinion or at least find out why she won't let us pursue Sasuke."

The young man looked over at her, then down into the water. Sakura smiled at him, but it didn't seem to break him from his frown. She patted him on his shoulder and went to take off his coat, but he interrupted her, "You can head home with it. It's no problem, Sakura. You'll catch a cold at this rate, anyway."

She thought of saying no, but she couldn't bring herself to. Instead her eyes set on the long arms of the coat she was wearing and the warm, waterproof fabric. She hadn't seen Naruto in a long time, and Naruto hadn't seen her for just as long. But for once she felt like she shared an understanding with him. She unzipped the coat and put it over his shoulders carefully. He didn't react, but she wasn't surprised. She took his advice and began heading back the way she had came, intent on returning home. Yet just before she had gone out of Naruto's range of hearing she turned back and said, "Naruto, I'm glad you're back. I know you'll make the right choice."

Naruto watched her walk off into the rain, then put his arms though the sleeves of his coat and sighed heavily. The dilemma he was faced with had haunted him for longer than Sakura realized, and while it was tempting to make a brash choice his mind always reminded him of the consequences before he could settle on it. He had gotten angry with Tsunade earlier in the day, so much so that she had ordered him to leave her office. Kakashi and Sakura had stood aside watching him the entire time, trying to calm him down, yet Naruto couldn't get a grip on his emotions. He wondered if Tsunade was angry with him. He wondered what would happen to Sasuke if he didn't go after him. He wondered what would happen if he left Konoha to save Sasuke.

As in the past he came to no decision, and after ten minutes of watching the eddies in the water he was beginning to experience the desire to return home. The rain was too much and he was going nowhere in his mind. He gave in and made haste back to his apartment. All the while he found himself looking at his feet, trying to find the right answer to everything he was asking himself. When he finally was at the front door of his apartment, he spoke his thoughts aloud in a forlorn conclusion, "There really isn't a right answer, I think." Thunder echoed in the distance. Moments later a strong wind howled through the open-air corridor of his apartment building and he shivered. He didn't waste any longer hiding in his home and locking the door.

The apartment he was in wasn't as luxurious as the one he had known most of his life. He had given the larger one up when he left for his training. Needless to say it was a mess. Ramen boxes riddled the ground and the smell of sour milk poured out of the apartment. Nartuo was immune to the smell, though his neighbours commonly complained. The only neat area was around his bed and the shelf nearby wherein he enshrined all of the memorabilia of his time in Team Seven. The photos in the picture frames all had crease marks from being kept in a small pouch on his belt where they were safest, but they were still in one piece.

He stepped over discarded cups of noodles and eventually made it to his bed. He fell into the cushions and sighed heavily, the rain pounding against the window he had put his bed beside. He opened the blinds and looked outside into the stormy night. The rain was washing down his window rapidly. Grumbling, Naruto took off one shoe, then another. He threw them onto the floor, then took his headband and placed it under his pillow.

Before he went to sleep he got up and out of his drenched coat, shirt and pants and put them up to dry. Then he plopped into the bed again with a heavy sigh and shivered. Staring into the ceiling didn't help him find a solution to the problem that haunted him, instead he found his eyes drooping shut. It wasn't late at all, perhaps seven or eight. Much too early to sleep, it seemed. Naruto didn't have the energy to check his clock, though. He closed his eyes and stopped opposing sleep's gentle touch.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Note:** Chapter 1 has recieved a pretty big update at the very end of the chapter with an extra scene added on and Naruto's introduction changed around completely._

_Bad news is that this chapter has only recieved a partial edit. I've been working on it since 2:00, but after 4 hours I can't get satisfied with it and I'm hungry for reviewer attention. I'll work on it and maybe repost it tonight with a full edit. The end is probably the most errenous part, just for your information._

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* * *

****Chapter Two  
Lucid Dreams**

Hinata stared at her reflection in the mirror and chastised herself for being so foolish. She did so for quite some time. She had generously applied medical salve to the burns caused by the hot ramen, but it only stung more. Worse yet, Hinata's face had turned permanently crimson from the incident, a humiliating reminder of her panic attack. She would be declined treatment if she went to the hospital as the burns were minor and there were shinobi coming in on a daily basis with serious injuries. She feared seeing Naruto again, especially with the burns, and hated herself for her inability to approach him with any grace. She clenched her fists as she walked over to her bed.

In her nightgown and lying on her bed, Hinata stared into the ceiling. She could see the shadows cast by the rain collecting on her window. She cast her attention on the window, watching the water gently trickle down the sheet of glass. She let her arms sprawl out onto either side of her body and lay on her back, her head atop the pillow but her body free of the heavy sheets. Even though the rain was coming down hard the sound it made on the tile roof was soothing and served as a lullaby to calm her distressed emotions. The shadows that were cast by her window were flowing and hypnotic and began to entrance her.

She remembered waking up at the main gates of the Hyuugan estate to Kurenai's gentle nudging and Kiba's snickering. Kiba had started with a few jokes that only served to make Hinata feel worse. Kurenai noticed her student's downbeat reaction and ordered the young man silent. Once Kiba complied the jounin stated in an ominous tone that, when Shino returned, she would be telling Team Eight some important news. She added that all three of the chuunin needed to be ready for change. This had interested Kiba so much that he began pestering his sensei for answers, but she ignored his begging and insisted that Shino was present. The trio went their separate ways home after Kiba had finally given up.

The warning scared Hinata. She wasn't entirely ready for more change. At least, not more than she had experienced earlier in the day. She had some fleeting guesses as to what was going to happen. It was only a guess, but it seemed likely. Team Eight was going to be disbanded. Hinata knew why, too, and felt largely responsible for the situation. The success rate, of all the other four-man cells in Konoha, was the lowest. Hinata had always felt responsible for the situation because she was, more often than not, the one who failed at a vital task during missions.

There had been a time when Kurenai had approached her with kind words about her failures and tried to help her improve. Hinata remembered them fondly. "Sometimes, Hinata, the students with the most ability are the ones who remain dormant for a long time," she had said. "I remember you telling me just after Naruto had left, 'I'm definitely going to change.' You haven't given up on that, I hope? What would Naruto think?" It was then and there Hinata realized her sensei knew she had a crush. Hinata had spent the rest of the day avoiding her sensei, though the words spoken to her had struck true.

Reflecting on it all, Hinata was stricken with the depressed understanding that she was still incapable of confronting him. There had been a time when she actually practiced before the mirror in her room to figure out what exactly she intended to say. She had done well for a while, but eventually Hiashi had walked in, apparently hearing her, and asked her what exactly she was trying to do. Blushing and dumbstruck she had nearly fallen from her chair. Hiashi had left quietly when he saw she had grasped the purpose of his intrusion and since then she had been too afraid to do so again. She was thankful, at least, that she hadn't mentioned Naruto's name when she was speaking.

"Wh-what was I g-going to say?" she asked herself. No answer immediately came to her mind. She had practiced it for a long time that day, but it was nearly a year ago that she had actually said the words. She had kept them stored up somewhere deep in her memory for some later date, but couldn't quite summon them. She tried going over phrases to find the one that fit, but her mind rejected each in succession until she was rapidly running out of sentences to try.

She couldn't remember it. She remembered at least mentioning watching him and liking him. She hadn't managed to get it out in its entirety the first dozen times she spoke it aloud, and even when she could manage to say it all without breaking down she stuttered the entire time. Whenever it came to anything with Naruto, she became a mess. No one else made her lose composure so quickly at one moment and, at the next moment, make her try harder than she ever could alone.

She still felt stronger knowing that Naruto was back in the village. There were many contradictory emotions for her. She didn't want to be seen in public and at the same time she wanted to spend the entire next day training. She was scared that he would catch sight of her burnt face and begin finding her strange. The mere thought of being laughed at for the burns by Kiba caused her distress.

After remaining dormant so long with her eyes closed Hinata found dull, flickering images beginning to overtake her vision and she realized she was falling asleep. Her arms were numb and her mind was slowly shutting down. Hinata didn't resist; she wanted to be up early tomorrow to train. Slowly she let herself fall asleep, opening her eyes once or twice to look out her window. After a few seconds she knew she was about to take the final leap into unconsciousness. Sher found herself smiling widely as her last thoughts were of her secret crush's return to the village.

* * *

"Hinata, you're late!" Shino shouted, pointing accusingly at her. Hinata raised her arms up defensively at his words; she immediately felt threatened. A cold breeze ran over her body as she began to fidget nervously. She noticed her face didn't hurt anymore, but she was certain it was still red. Hinata was fairly certain that she hadn't checked in the morning. Shino seemed unusually moody and it was making her nervous. Hinata desperately wanted to say something to Shino's unexpected frustration but she found herself stuttering incoherently and looking down at the ground as the hooded ninja crossed his arms and began to grumble.

They were in the training grounds, though the windstorm hadn't seemed to have caused any damages to the village or the surrounding forest. Not even the leaves had been swept from their places on the trees. Up above the skies were clear and sunny and down below it was pleasantly warm. The river near the training grounds, for some reason, had dried up. Hinata had pondered why the river was barren when she noticed it, but before an explanation had come to her Shino had started shouting.

"An important part of teamwork is understanding that your teammates have difficulties as well... Shino," Kiba calmly said in the kunoichi's defence, stroking the head of Akamaru. He was wearing his old anorak, but Hinata could not understand how. He had discarded the coat half a year past complaining that he didn't like it anymore. Perhaps he had bought another. Stranger yet, Kiba looked uncharacteristically depressed with the dark, fur-lined hood pulled over his head farther than it needed to be.

Kurenai was there as well, but she was sitting in a wheelchair and quietly knitting. She looked up and saw Hinata, smiled, then returned to knitting. Her legs were bandaged and she was, for once, wearing the customary flak jacket of high-ranking ninja. Hinata was not sure what happened to her sensei overnight, but she was alarmed. Hinata tried to recall why she had come to the training field in the first place, but nothing graced her memory. Her nervous fidgeting with her fingers increased as a fight broke out between the two male ninja, Shino walking up to Kiba and pointing at him accusingly.

"You were late too!" the Aburame growled.

"Indeed," Kiba calmly replied, adjusting his hood. Akamaru nodded in reply.

"Yeah, well, now Kurenai's got to tell us what's going on. C'mon, sensei! Spit it out!" Shino shouted, eagerly turning to the woman he was addressing.

She calmly continued knitting, and with such a reaction Shino's insistence only grew. He began to complain loudly and pace about impatiently. Hinata came closer to the group, but said nothing. She made an awkward glance at Kiba, but Kiba did not notice it. Finally, Kurenai cleared her throat loudly, silencing Shino and diverting Hinata's attention from her feet and over to her sensei. The jounin lifted up what she had just finished knitting to display to the group. It was a red sweater with a large, pink heart on the chest.

Hinata tried to make sense of it, but could not. Kurenai chuckled and put the sweater down. Hinata noticed that neither Shino nor Kiba seemed to understand the meaning, only adding to Hinata's confusion. Kurenai cleared her throat again, "The reason I've gathered you here is to make an absolutely vital announcement that concerns the future of our team. It has to do with Hinata, who is no more aware of this than you two are. After many years of carefully analyzing Hinata's behaviours, I've come to an important conclusion."

There was silence. Hinata looked into Kurenai's eyes nervously. The young kunoichi twiddled her fingers and expected the worst. "Maybe Kurenai-sensei is going to tell me I'm to be sent back to the academy. But... but I'm too old to go there! Maybe I've l-lost my position as a ni-ninja... and sh-she's here to tell me... in... in a n-n-nice way," Hinata thought to herself. Kurenai remained silent. Hinata began kicking at the dirt and staring at her feet, no longer able to make eye contact with her sensei.

"You see, Hinata rather fancies the thought of being with one Uzumaki Naruto and it is jeopardizing our integrity as a squad. I've informed the Godaime who has told me to address the issue immediately," Kurenai said, never skipping a beat or changing her tone or facial expression.

As Hinata heard Kurenai say his name the young Hyuugan made an audible yelp of surprise. She knew that her blush had become so dark that it was overpowering the burns on her face and she trembled violently. Her legs nearly gave out from beneath her and both Kiba and Shino shot her a look. She wanted to scream so desperately. Instead she made a long, frightened whimper before turning tail and running towards the nearby trees. None of the three of them followed her, but she heard Shino laughing loudly.

"This can't be happening, this can't be happening, this can't be happening!" she repeated to herself. Hinta didn't know what to think or do; she had never thought Kurenai would do such a thing to her. She had no direction as she crashed through the foliage of forest. Eventually she was back on the main road to the gate of Konoha, and she decided to turn towards the village. The gate's two guardian ninja and the ninja dog sitting with them nearby watched in confusion as the Hyuugan barged past them and into the village streets.

Once in Konoha she ducked down a narrow alleyway and doubled over, catching her breath. She was still red from blushing. That she was certain of. Furthermore, her heart was beating violently, so much so that she was having difficulty stopping her hyperventilation. She clutched her chest as the seconds passed, then eventually leaned back against the wall and slid down its rough surface to sit. It was a disaster, one she was barely capable of coping with, but her breathing was slowly returning to normal and her thinking was crystallizing again. After several minutes, Hinata finally managed to recover from the initial panic.

"You know, Hinata, sometimes it's not a bad thing to be afraid of something so scary," a familiar old, beaten voice suddenly declared. She hadn't noticed him approach her, having been in too much of a panic. She looked over slowly, her eyes wide. Hinata knew who the voice belonged to. Beside her the Sandaime sat just the same way she was sitting, wearing the robes and hat that marked him as the Hokage. He smiled pleasantly and nodded at her, seemingly oblivious to the wide-eyed stare he was receiving.

She looked away from him after a few moments and stared into the ground. She knew she was still blushing and didn't want the Hokage, of all people, to know that she was so embarrassed. It was made worse when she realized that he most likely knew her secret and she huddled up defensively, hugging her knees to her chest. She managed a glance over at the Hokage and found he was doing the exact same thing as she was. It was a strange sight to see, the old man acting like an embarrassed teenage girl whilst smoking a pipe.

"Lord H-Hokage... wh-what do you mean?" she finally choked out. She had closed her eyes timidly, but occasionally they opened to catch glances at the kind face of the old man. It was a welcome reunion for Hinata. She did not dislike Tsunade, but Tsunade was much scarier than the Sandaime. Tsunade would scoff if she came to her with a personal problem; the Sandaime always seemed happy to help. She still remembered him wandering into the classes with a warm grin on his face, glad to see the progress of the next generation of ninja.

"You're a very timid girl, Hinata," he said. "It is both a strength and a weakness. Sometimes it is better to remain silent and be labelled a fool instead of speaking up and proving it. I'm guilty of the latter more often than not!" Hinata could not help but smile and feel comforted by the joke. The Sandaime himself began laughing loudly, removing the smoking pipe from his mouth as he did. After a few more moments of laughter he took a long draw of the tobacco from the pipe's mouthpiece, savouring it.

"You're afraid of what people will think about what you say, but you'll never know until you try. In my long, drawn out life I don't think I've met a person so reserved. Yet, with the glances you're giving me right now, I'm guessing that I'm too senile to understand fully. Why don't you explain?" he asked.

He was making her tell him to prove a point, but she understood it was in her best interests and explained, "Well... I... I don't think I'm a-afraid of being shy, Lord H-Hokage. It's just th-that... I... I rea-really... l-like someone, and whenever I... whenever I try to talk to th-them... or about them... I... I just... I get like this and I c-can't help it. Or... uh... uhm.,. we-well... I... I end up... panicking... and th-then I faint... and... I c-c-can't help it."

"Ah, I see. You know the best way to fix such a thing? What I told you just now; you must try and accept the consequences if it does not work out as you wish it to. Our minds frequently remind us of the worst possible outcome of a situation. We want to think that that worst possible outcome we've made up will occur when we actually confront the issue! That's a silly way to feel," the Sandaime said, "but as ninja it is the way we're trained to act. Always be prepared. Right?

"Yet never doing anything for fear of what is to come is not being prepared, Hinata. It is putting an iron gate between you and your goal, and then locking it shut. You must believe in yourself, Hinata. Believe that something good will come of what you do. For example, if you tell this person you like that you care for them, there's a chance they will tell you they like you too. And if that is not the case, there is a chance they will tell you they're willing to consider the idea. And if that is not the case, they may become very good friends with you and one day grow to like you. And if all else fails, you can learn from what has happened and try again. One day you will find a friend sitting in an alleyway and you will be able to tell them what you have learned from your experience, and even if you have been rejected some good may've come from it for that person you help."

They were words Hinata had wanted to hear for a long time, words that strengthened her resolve. The Hokage smiled at her as he tapped his pipe a few times. Then the old man got up slowly. She watched him walk into the depths of the alley, slowly shuffling his feet. The corridor they were in took an abrupt turn to the left roughly ten yards down and Hinata smiled and waved as the Sandaime seemed ready to return to his normal duties. Just before he had disappeared past the corner he turned about and nodded to her, "By the way, Hinata! Don't forget your nindo!"

* * *

Hinata jolted awake, her heart racing. She felt a warmth flow through her body. It was the warmth of general, all-encompassing happiness. She had such a keen recollection of the Sandaime's features and it was reassuring to see him again, if only in a dream. She smiled sadly upon remembering him. After honouring the Sandaime's memory for a few moments longer she looked outside, then over to the clock in her room. It was an hour before she would've normally woken, but she felt a strong sense of purpose and a sharp awareness of her surroundings. She had no intentions of returning to sleep.

It only took minutes for Hinata to redress herself and walk off into the streets of Konoha. The sun was just barely beginning to peak over the mountains in the distance and the sky was full of brilliant hues. Around the village shops were setting up early and preparing for the morning traffic of Konoha. Patronage was always decent, especially with the chuunin exams bearing down on the village. Nobles were beginning to arrive to watch the young genin train in preparation for the tournament, eager to collect the most information possible before laying their money down on expensive wagers.

Hinata put her hands in the pockets of her coat to keep them warm. The sun's rays had yet to burrow into the ground and heat the land. Other than the chill, everything was beautiful. The clouds had cleared away and despite the heavy winds there was no apparent damage to the buildings of the village. In the roads there were large puddles where rain had saturated, and most of the pathways were thick with mud. It was not horrible, but the dirt stuck to the sole of Hinata's shoes as she walked along and she had to carefully avoid the regions that had become saturated with water whenever she could.

Occasionally a business owner would smile and wave at her as they assembled their stand and she would return the gesture. Yet she did not stay to chat, intent on visiting a single location. Soon the Academy would open and Iruka-sensei would begin lecturing the fundamentals of ninjutsu to a class of apathetic students dreaming of becoming legendary ninja. Naruto would wake up and run out of his apartment eating ramen from a Styrofoam cup. Kiba would probably find Kurenai-sensei and begin badgering her for the information she had refused to provide.

When Hinata finally arrived at her destination she found herself nervously hiding off to the side when she noticed someone else was there. Naruto's white-haired sensei was staring quietly at the memorial stone. She never visited the memorial stone in the morning, but she had heard rumours Kakashi was always there. She wasn't sure what to make of his silent stare at the rock, but her eyes automatically understood his body language. He was reflecting on something deeply.

She thought of moving towards the stone at first, but soon decided that it would be inappropriate to barge in. She was uncomfortable approaching jounin she did not know terribly well. She waited patiently, fidgeting nervously as she peaked out from behind a tree. After ten minutes she decided she would go to the Hokage faces instead, sighing lightly. She had wanted to pay respects to the Sandaime. It was an odd desire inspired by her dream and she wasn't going to be satisfied until she brought it to some sort of conclusion. Yet as she went to move away, someone appeared in front of her.

"You know, sometimes memories are best when shared," Kakashi said, hanging upside down with his chakra holding his feet against the tree branch he was hovering beneath. Hinata stumbled backwards and was surprised, looking away from the jounin. Her eyes strayed to the ground and she wasn't sure what to say. Kakashi smiled politely underneath his mask before forming a seal with his hands. A second later he had disappeared in a cloud of white smoke which quickly dissipated.

Hinata had certainly not been expecting such a tidbit of advice from the jounin and scratched behind her head awkwardly. Then she glanced back to the empty field around the Memorial Stone and realized she was receiving a chance to go and pay her respects. She quietly said thanks to Kakashi before sneaking out of the bushes. She proceeded towards the Stone, no other signs of life present. She would've felt odd paying respects with others there.

Hinata, in all her life, had yet to have a close friend's name carved into the stone. She watched people come to the stone all the time. Some cried. Some smiled. Some even got angry. She had even seen the Godaime and her assistant both paying respects at the stone once. Hinata didn't try to eavesdrop, usually, but it was often times inevitable when practicing with the byakugan. She always understood their emotions and would feel the sorrow they shared.

As she approached the stone and stood before it she felt happy seeing the name of the Sandaime carved into the stone. If a shop had been open, she would've perhaps brought flowers. Instead, she bowed her head in respect and closed her eyes. She had never been entirely sure what the expectation was when you were to honour the dead. She did as she felt best and remembered what time she had spent with the Sandaime.

When Hinata was done she found herself smiling widely, more than she had in quite some time. She placed a hand against the cold surface of the stone before she turned away and quietly headed back towards the town. She was going to return home and ready breakfast for the household – she still had enough time to do it, she was sure. Then she would train until Kurenai brought them together for the announcement and, possibly, a mission.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**The Puppet Master**

Konohamaru was skipping a day of school at the Academy again. Because the Konohamaru Corps weren't present he had intended to pull something on Konoha one-handed. At first he had intended to paint up Tsunade's face on the mountain like Naruto had done endlessly to Sarutobi's portrait, but he lost the idea when he started stalking the master prankster himself. Despite his training, the two-bit ninja's skills of observation had declined rapidly whilst Konohamaru's ability to hide had increased several times over. For once he was capable of trailing Naruto undetected.

Naruto's day was striking similar to Naruto's old days. When Konohamaru had caught him in the first place, Naruto was eating cup ramen for breakfast as he walked towards the training fields using a pair of cheap disposable chopsticks. He had unwittingly passed by Konohamaru without so much as a nod of the head and even though the genin's ability to sneak about was greatly hindered by his excitement at first, Naruto remained oblivious.

Once Naruto had finished his cup ramen he had proceeded to Teuchi's ramen shop, but remembered halfway there that he didn't have any money. Frustrated, he had attempted to beg for money from Sakura who began to ream him out about some earlier meal she had paid for. He eventually gave up and returned to his new apartment complex, strutting outside five minutes after he had entered with another serving of cup noodles.

Once Naruto had finished his second helping of ramen he spent about a half-an-hour sneaking into bookstores and subsequently getting kicked out for browsing the adult magazines section a little too extensively. Konohamaru decided he would have to put more effort into making perverted ninjutsu if he were to keep up with the top dog. After Naruto finally gave up on the bookstores he wandered off in search of a specific person.

Konohamaru tried exceptionally hard to hide when Naruto met up with his sensei Kakashi, but the jounin spotted him repeatedly throughout his sneaking. Thankfully, Kakashi said nothing to Naruto but seemed confused as to why a genin was stalking about the blonde-haired boy. The entire time Naruto was near Kakashi he complained incessantly that Kakashi teach him a new technique. He frequently mentioned a technique called "chidori" and seemed to be most determined to learn it above all others. Eventually the jounin told Naruto he had important business to attend and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto threw a small fit, then grumbled and listlessly stood in the middle of the street for a while.

Eventually Naruto was on his way to Tsunade's office. Konohamaru listened through the doorway as Naruto begged for an important A-rank mission, only to be told that the only missions she could offer his group as a three-man cell were all C-rank or lower. Naruto threw a small fit in protest and Konohamaru had to hide to avoid being spotted as Shizune "escorted" him out of the office. He managed a few unwelcome hand-signs to Shizune before storming off. Konohamaru could hear Tsunade swearing loudly before he ran off in search of Naruto and in fear of the Godaime.

He spotted Naruto from the top of the Hokage's residence, the blonde-haired boy heading down the main road out of Konoha, likely to put in some hours training. Konohamaru rushed after Naruto with his newfound ability to summon chakra to his aid, then slowed his pace when he was near Naruto. Konohamaru noticed something strange after trailing Naruto from behind for a short while. Someone else was following the young man. She was very good at hiding from the individuals she could spot, Konohamaru noticed, but because she wasn't aware of him she didn't seem to take his presence into account.

Konohamaru decided to use her focus on Naruto to his advantage and began specifically stalking her from as far back as he could reliably manage. The entire time the long-haired ninja stalked Naruto, right until they got to the gate guards at city limits. They were too trained for even jounin to sneak by. Thus, both she and Konohamaru had to come out of hiding once Naruto had long passed the same point and smile and wave at the gate guards like everyone else. When she had walked a fair ways away from the city limits she glanced back.

Konohamaru had done it just in time. He quietly waited in the bushes to see what she would do. She didn't try to track him, however. It seemed as if she knew where he was going automatically and without skipping a beat jumped off into the trees. Konohamaru wasn't quite used to travelling that way, though. He couldn't do it stealthily, at least. He crossed the road and went in the direction she had gone, albeit quietly.

It didn't take long to catch up to her and Naruto. She was quietly watching him whilst she hid behind a tree. Naruto stood in the centre of the field and began stretching, preparing for training. Konohamaru had to treat the case sensitively. The only background noise was the running river nearby, and the sun was out in full glory so illumination was high enough he couldn't rely on shadows. Worse yet, the rains had caused patches of mud to form beneath the canopy and stepping in one of them would spell sure detection. It was a task truly worthy of the leader of the Konohamaru Corps.

He made his way towards her slowly, aiming to stay just outside of her field of vision. He occasionally had to make haste to hide behind bushes when Naruto would turn to face their direction. To make matters worse for him the kunoichi would also put her back to the tree, causing her to gaze down into the section of the woods he was in. Yet against all odds the genin made it within three yards of the strange girl. She was so fixated on Naruto she didn't even notice him, yet he was certain he had seen her before. She was one of the Rookie Nine, he was certain of it. Especially with those violet eyes, she had to be Hyuugan.

He didn't know what to do. She wasn't making a move on Naruto after five minutes; she simply kept blushing and staring at him. It took a while for Konohamaru's analytical skills to put the two piece of the puzzle together and he nearly gasped at his epiphany. "It can't be," Konohamaru whispered to himself, pulling out a kunai. He only had to move in three more yards to sneak up behind the chuunin, but those three yards would be the hardest. It'd mean placing bets that Naruto didn't turn around, but 

Naruto was choosing training that made it necessary for his field of vision to change frequently. It would take too long for Naruto to choose something that would put the genin in a better position to sneak up.

Konohamaru waited for the kunoichi to stick her head out to peer at Naruto one last time before closing the distance. Two yards left to go and Naruto had yet to do anything that would jeopardize the situation, thus Konohamaru channelled chakra into his feet and covered it with a small amount of sound. Naturally, the female chuunin noticed it, but it was too late. Konohamaru raised the kunai knife up towards her throat, intending to stop so that he could capture her.

Even though he had only made sound for a split second, the young woman had turned around and pulled a shuriken. She threw it at his own with enough force to disarm him, and then seemed ready to strike him with an open palm before she realized that he wasn't a real threat. Konohamaru ran into her body clumsily, not used to the body flicker technique, and then fell onto his back with an audible thud. Naruto, somehow, remained oblivious.

Fear filled his veins as he looked up at the veins sprouting from the face of the kunoichi. The eyes now had lightly defined pupils, and the pupils were frightening to behold. They burrowed through him and caught sight of his every moment. They seemed to read his body language with a fluidity no other ninja could achieve. Konohamaru had never seen a doujutsu before and now that he had seen one aimed at him as though he were a foe he wasn't pleased at the thought of seeing one again. He was about to shout and run until her face returned to normal along with her eyes.

When she smiled it was warm and friendly and it reminded Konohamaru of the first instructor he had at the Academy. She was clearly curious as to the reason for his intrusion, but offered him a hand nonetheless. Konohamaru stared at it for a long time, then grasped it and felt himself lifted to his feet. The kunoichi put her index finger to her lips to ask for silence, but Kunohamaru intentionally asked at the top of his voice, "So why are you stalking the boss around!?"

Naruto finally stopped training and looked about, shouting, "Hello? Konohamaru, is that you? What's up!?" Konohamaru tried to reply, but the kunoichi spun him around and restrained him, covering his mouth. He tried to bite her hand, but she was carefully enough to avoid his teeth. He tried making muffled cries, but they barely made it over the sound of the river's flow and simply caused the woman to cover his mouth tighter.

Konohamaru eventually accepted he had no choice. He had to use the jutsu he had been reserving for a certain other lady named Sakura. By focusing on his chakra and becoming calm he suddenly realized that the kunoichi was shaking at the legs. He ignored the fact and tried to think of an appropriate form with which to use the jutsu. The answer was obvious. He knew very little about her except for that one, important fact, so it suited the situation perfectly.

"Transform!" he said to himself.

If there was a single jutsu in which Konohamaru could be said to be supremely keen in, it was the transformation jutsu. He had used it countless times since Naruto had gotten him fascinated in its 

workings back in his days under Ebisu and Konohamaru now found it effortless. A chuunin couldn't do it better, yet for this particular instance of the jutsu Konohamaru was exceptionally pleased with himself.

When the kunoichi realized she was no longer holding Konohamaru, she jolted to attention, no longer watching Naruto search the foliage surrounding the training field in hopes of finding the boy she held. When she realized who she was holding she suddenly let go and raised her arms in front of her defensively, putting her hands over her mouth, but still squealing loudly enough that Konohamaru could hear her muffled cry.

There stood Naruto, sheepishly grinning at the kunoichi and winking. Konohamaru had recreated Naruto as perfectly as he could, yet his recreation lacked certain aspects that were generally attributed to Naruto, namely the orange jumpsuit he constantly wore. Konohamaru had no desire to imagine Naruto naked, so he had made up most of the lower regions as he had channelled the chakra, but despite the haphazard recreation it seemed to have had the desired effect. The young woman, upon looking slightly downward, slapped one of the hands that had been covering her mouth over her eyes and turned an even brighter shade of red than she had been the entire time.

"Hey there, baby," the imposter Naruto said, winking repeatedly. "How about a good time?"

Hinata fell over sideways, incapacitated by the shock. Not wanting Naruto catching him in such charming attire, Konohamaru changed back to his normal form and ran from the scene of the crime using the treetops. His retreat was sloppy, but he was getting accustom to jumping from branch to branch. Sure, Konohamaru had thought of telling Naruto about his secret lover then and there, but as a genin Konohamaru was certainly more imaginative than that.

* * *

Shikamaru groaned as he looked at the clipboard. Tsunade was hardly surprised with his reaction. Soon he would begin complaining, and the thought of it annoyed her greatly. She clenched a fist under her desk and awaited the inevitable moaning that would pour from the mouth of the ninja. He was certainly a wonderful chuunin, but he was from the generation after the wars. It made him arrogant and moody, just like the rest of the younger ninja. Shikamaru shoved his free hand into his pocket, grumbling in a tired fashion, "You mean we need to do even more diplomacy here? I thought we were done once I got the ambassadors out of here. This is such a drag. When I signed up for this, you said all I had to do was keep an eye on the exams, not this."

"You realize that, at this point, you've complained about every aspect of this job since I gave it to you?" Tsunade hissed, "There are other ninja out fighting and dying. You have a job pushing paper and talking to people. If it's too much to handle I'll replace it with someone who can do it without babysitting."

Shikamaru scoffed, looking at the clipboard again. He took his hand out of his pocket and rubbed an eye, then yawned loudly. Shizune's expression grew nervous as Tsunade impatiently awaited a response from Shikamaru to say something. When the young man responded he did so with a lack of 

devotion, "Fair enough. I'll keep talking to people for now. Though, if you're going to have me going on a diplomatic mission to the Sand, I'd like at least an escort team. I'll have to pass through at least one nation to get to there, after all."

Tsunade nodded, searching about the various files she had in front of her. If the Hokage had intended to send Shikamaru with his normal team, no teamwork would be needed, so the chuunin automatically raised a brow, immediately questioning her actions, "I was more meaning that I'd like to be sent along with Ino and Chouji and possibly Asuma, if he's available. I can understand if Asuma's on a mission, but it's easiest for me to work with my normal posse." Tsunade didn't respond to him and Shikamaru eventually scoffed, shoving his hand back into its pocket. Shizune nervously scratched the back of her head and, standing behind Tsunade, tried to give him hand gestures to tell him to tone down his complaints.

"Normally I would wholeheartedly agree with you, Shikamaru, but that's not the case today. Would you like some well-suited chuunin, or would you like some genin to train on the way?" the Hokage asked rhetorically. "Even though your chances of being intercepted are high, this isn't a horribly dangerous mission. Even if you are attacked during your trip, it will be on familiar terrain with allies nearby.

"These are the ninja I have available, Shikamaru." the Hokage added nonchalantly, throwing a document folder at the chuunin.

"What a drag," Shikamaru complained, opening the folder and then raising a brow. "Why's Kurenai's named crossed off?"

"She's on leave," Tsunade said, leaning back in her chair.

"Wait a second," Shikamaru cut in. "Kurenai's on leave? What for?"

Tsunade looked back at Shizune, searching for advice on what to tell him. Shizune shrugged in a clueless fashion. Shikamaru was suddenly paying a fair deal of attention, concerned that it somehow affected his sensei. Tsunade came to a decision and let out a hefty sigh before calmly explaining, "Normally I'd tell you off, but since it does seem to have some personal meaning for you... it seems Kurenai is –"

* * *

Hinata's eyes opened slowly but surely. The light of the sun was at first blinding and her head hurt badly, yet her face was wet. Moments later someone splashed her with more water and she made a surprised yelp, quickly getting up to sit with her legs sprawled out. She wiped the moisture off of her face with the sleeve of her jacket and groaned in pain. The throbbing behind her eyes had begun and she knew from the familiar mixture of nausea and the intense headache that she had hit her head badly on the way down. Looking down at her sleeve she was surprised to see traces of red, but she wasn't cut. She quickly realized her nose was bleeding, but it hadn't hit anything as far as she could tell. She was 

quite certain the shock had given her a nosebleed and suddenly felt a wave of humiliation overtake her internal state.

She eventually had the idea to look up at who had revived her, but she knew instantly as her eyes drifted up the orange pant leg that it was the last person she wanted to see at the moment. Naruto grinned down at her and prodded her forehead as he squatted down, "You sure do pass out a lot, Hinata. Have you tried talking to Grannie Tsunade about it? It could be a medical condition. Whoa, hey, wai-!"

Hinata promptly passed out again, causing a weary Naruto to begin splashing the water from the nearby river on her face. It didn't take long for her to reawaken, though she managed to remain conscious despite Naruto's presence. He coughed indignantly, waited a few moments, then genuinely asked, "Hinata, I hate to bother you too much, but are you okay? I mean, you're passing out an awful lot. Maybe I should take you to the hospital?"

Hinata did not offer an answer at first, staring into the ground between herself and Naruto. She had not genuinely intended to approach Naruto to begin taking baby steps towards her goal, she felt she wasn't ready. Yet she knew it was the best time as the confidence from the dream was still lifting her from her otherwise completely reserved nature around him. It simply didn't help Hinata to know that Naruto thought she had some sort of medical condition she fainted so frequently.

The first bit of Hinata's attempt to speak was a mush of syllables that had no definable form. The second attempt was barely better, and Naruto began squinting at her and turning his head to the side in an attempt to decipher her distorted speech. The third time was the charm and she managed to stutter, "I'm okay, N-N-Naruto."

Naruto fell backwards onto his bottom and sat with his legs crossed, leaning forward with his elbows placed against his thighs. He scratched his cheek, still squinting, and persisted, "Are you sure? I mean, you fainted just after you woke up last time."

"I... I'm fine, N-Naruto. I just got... c-cau-caught off-guard. Th-th-that's a-all," she said, wincing at the memory of seeing a nude Naruto. She blushed violently, but she already had her head so low that most of her hair was covering her face.

"By what? I heard you fall over, but that's about all," he said.

Hinata had to find a suitable excuse to provide him and struggled at first, "I... well... the-... well... I had come to talk to Kurenai-sensei an-and... uhm... we-well... I... uhm... well... I tripped, then I hit my head p-pretty hard, I th-think."

"Oh, I see. That makes sense. I guess," Naruto responded, crossing his arms. "Well, if you're going to go see your sensei, you should get going."

"Y-y-yeah, th-thanks for h-helping m-m-me, N-Naruto," she said, hastily getting to her feet.

"Oh, and Hinata, is your face okay?" the blonde-haired youth asked.

Of all the questions Naruto could have asked at the time, it was the single question that Hinata dreaded the most. It was not a rude question; rather, Naruto asked the question out of genuine concern, or it certainly seemed that way. Yet it was a terribly embarrassing situation for any teenage girl to be put in, and Hinata wanted no part in it. Yet squealing and running off was just as embarrassing to her as answering the question. Thus she was left in limbo, frozen.

Naruto prodded Hinata's forehead again and she made no attempt to resist, still stunned, as he forced her to look up to him. He grimaced and let her hide her face again, which she did immediately, putting her hands over her face. Thinking of something meaningful to say, Naruto grasped at various statements before settling on, "Yeah, that's pretty bad."

At first there was a stunned silence from both parties. Hinata had recovered from the shock, yet she had decided it was most appropriate to continue hiding her face. Something compelled her not to run, yet everything else in her being told her to panic. She maintained an unsteady balance by silently hiding her face and thinking of what she could do to improve her situation. She finally decided to say something, anything, but before she could speak Naruto had gotten up and walked off.

At first she thought he had gotten bored of her and decided to go back to training, or perhaps that he had decided it was not worth his time to tend to someone who couldn't even muster a reply to his questions. Yet before she knew it Naruto had returned and he tapped her on the shoulder gently. She broke through her embarrassment long enough to look up. He already knew, so what did it matter if he could see her reddened face? After all, he already knew she had taken the dive straight into the bowl in the ramen in the first place; the only thing the burns could serve to do is remind him of it all.

Taking to opportunity, Naruto pushed a cylindrical container into her hands, which were still hovering near her face. Through an instinctual reaction she grasped the container in a confused fashion. Hinata watched him walk to the backpack he had likely recovered the container from in the first place. Naruto turned around and gave her a nod, saying, "That helped me a lot whenever I remembered to apply it, so maybe it can help with the burns, right? Anyway, I'm going to keep training. Good luck, if you're getting a mission with Kurenai-sensei!"

Hinata took the cue and jumped to her feet. She saw Naruto wave as she ran off and leapt into the treetops, and, despite freezing for a moment, returned the gesture. Proceeding towards where she was supposed to meet Kurenai, Hinata looked at the container he had given her. It was covered in childish doodles, the creations of some sort of bored mind, obviously Naruto's. She couldn't help but endorse her most curious thought, and opened the container. She stopped on the next branch she landed on and sniffed at the contents. She remembered the container and the cream, and she was certain where she had seen it last.

Was it really the same container that she had given him just after his preliminary fight against Kiba?

* * *

"Pregnant!?" Kiba shouted, putting a hand over his face and groaning loudly. "Why now!? Now we're not going to get any important missions. I know we fail them all anyway, but we're still not going to get them! You've abandoned us! You know, my parents sat me down and told me the importance of using some decent damn pro-"

Kiba was silenced abruptly as Kurenai gave him an unforgiving stare. Shino took the opportunity to cut into the conversation, fixing his sunglasses nonchalantly and clearing his throat, "So am I to understand that we'll be reassigned jounin?"

"Not necessarily immediately," Kurenai responded. "Tsunade's in charge of this, not me. In fact, she refused to give me the details because she wants me to avoid any unnecessary stress. So my hands are tied, you'll have to ask her yourself."

"I see. Then congratulations to you and Asuma," Shino replied.

Kiba gave in and offered similar sentiments to his sensei, albeit in a slightly more begrudging fashion. Akamaru offered a series of barks to signify his agreement, though a question quickly arose amongst all three of them. Kurenai, assuming she was the only one out of the loop on the issue, questioned the two chuunin tiredly, "So, where is Hinata, anyway?"


End file.
